Since its dedication in 1922, the downtown church has been home to many of the city’s Catholic parishioners. Today, Monsignor Kevin McCoy will be leading the church’s final mass at 10:30 a.m. The mass will be followed by a small reception with cookies and rolls at the old Sacred Heart School, which is now United All Stars.

The church is closing so that Holy Trinity Parish can begin the process of taking some items that are in the church to the new church being built near St. Edmond Catholic School.

“That means the pew ends will be utilized in the new church, so we’ve got to get those out to be refinished, and new pews done,” said Hiedi Touney, parish life director for Holy Trinity Parish. “One of the biggest pieces, the altar, will also be going into the new church.”

In nearly a century of service to the Fort Dodge Catholic community, Sacred Heart has left a lasting mark.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Rev. Brian Feller serves communion Friday morning during Mass in the chapel at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

“Not only did the church provide a place for worship, the parish also provided formation in the ways of the faith through its parish school and religious education program,” McCoy said. “Throughout the 20th century, Sacred Heart not only joined Corpus Christi in meeting this mission of Christian evangelization, but it would be joined by Holy Rosary and the other area Catholic parishes in Webster County, some of which predate Sacred Heart.”

The church closing its doors is a “sad time,” Touney said, but the Catholic community understands how this is the next step toward bringing everyone together into one church.

“It’s a hard thing to see the church close, which is very near and dear to so many people’s hearts,” she said. “It’s a very beautiful church, but we have this great thing where we get to take those items into the new church and really become a community in one church.”

In addition to the Sacred Heart pew ends and altar, the rosette stained glass window, as well as the top-tier stained glass windows, will be installed in the new sanctuary at Holy Trinity. There will also be pieces from Corpus Christi that will be moved to the new church.

Touney said the parish is “excited” about moving the Sacred Heart stained glass windows to the new church.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Rev. Brian Feller takes a walk down the main aisle at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Friday morning after leading Mass in the church’s chapel.

“We could have some made, but it’s incredibly expensive to find the quality to do that, and you get to take a piece of history and hopefully that comforts people,” she said.

The future of the building at Sacred Heart is uncertain, both Touney and McCoy said.

“It has wonderful acoustics, particularly for instrumental and vocal music,” McCoy said. “Personally, I would hope that it might be able to be repurposed in such a fashion as to benefit the performing arts, locally. Whatever the use, it would have to respect its origins as a house of praise and worship.”

Until the new church opens, the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass that would normally be held at Sacred Heart will now be held at St. Edmond Catholic School. Sacred Heart’s 5 p.m. Saturday Mass will be combined with the 4:15 p.m. Saturday Mass at Corpus Christi.

Touney said the parish expects that Corpus Christi will close the week before the first services at the new Holy Trinity Church.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Rev. Brian Feller prepares for Mass in the chapel at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Friday morning.

“Sacred Heart, as have so many others, has contributed greatly to the works of the Catholic community here in Webster County,” McCoy said. “It has been a home to many for our worship of God, and it has been a home to inspire works of charity and mercy. All of this continues as our community says goodbye to this house of worship as we bring our new sanctuary for the celebration of God’s word and sacrament to completion in the new Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Sacred Heart’s legacy will live on; and the artifacts that come from this church building and others will help to remind us of this history and our never-ending mission of bringing people to eternal salvation in Christ Jesus.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Rev. Brian Feller visits with parishioner John English as he prepares for Mass in the chapel at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Friday morning.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Mass is celebrated in the chapel at Sacred Heart Catholic Church early Friday morning.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Rev. Brian Feller looks over the interior of Sacred Heart Catholic Church Friday morning after serving Mass in the church’s chapel. The last Mass at Sacred Heart is this morning.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Rev. Brian Feller helps Sacred Heart Catholic Church maintenance engineer Jon Koenig carry some music stands into the church Friday morning.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Rev. Brian Feller prepares for Mass in the chapel at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Friday morning.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Rev. Brian Fuller stops to chat with Sacred Heart Catholic Church maintenance engineer Jon Koenig Friday morning.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 211 S. 13th St., will be holding its last Mass this morning. The building was constructed in 1921.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Rev. Brian Feller checks on the altar cloth at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Friday morning after serving the Mass in the church’s chapel. The last Mass at Sacred Heart is this morning.